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Fergus's Winter-Ready Red Squirrel Barrel Feeder
Fergus's Winter-Ready Red Squirrel Barrel Feeder
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30-day money-back guarantee
Free UK delivery with tracking
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Fergus's Winter-Ready Red Squirrel Barrel Feeder
Built like a whisky cask, in a stone shed in Aberlour, Speyside
Fergus Munro, 72, spent 41 years as a cooper making casks for the distilleries along the Spey. Arthritis in both wrists has ended his cask making — these are his last squirrel barrels.
“One February morning I watched a red squirrel dig through frozen ground for an hour and find nothing. The hazelnuts she hid in October were gone. That’s when I knew these barrels aren’t a toy. They’re a larder for the hardest weeks of the year.”
Fergus Munro · Aberlour, Speyside
What comes in the box
Fully assembled, ready to hang
Already fitted with six screws
For tree, fence, post or wall
How to keep it clean, in three steps
What Fergus built into every barrel
A round chamber, about 18 cm across, like a small cask. It feels like a tree hole to a squirrel — and there are no corners where damp can collect.
A clear front shows you from the kitchen when it needs topping up. And you can watch the reds eat.
A round 7 cm hole on each side. In one door, out the other. No squirrel gets cornered.
The roof opens on a hinge. Refill it in ten seconds without taking it off the tree — and give it a weekly wipe.
A wide 33 cm platform where squirrels sit and eat — right where you can see them.
Give the squirrels their own table, and they leave the bird feeder alone. Hang it about three metres away from it.
“Late winter is the hardest stretch of the year for red squirrels. They don’t hibernate, their hidden food runs low, and new buds are still weeks away. A covered feeder with a dry chamber, two exits and a lid that opens for cleaning is exactly what I recommend to people in red squirrel country. Keep it clean once a week, and it does real good.”
Catriona Fraser · Retired wildlife rehabilitator · Highlands, 20+ years
Perfect for
Why Fergus’s barrels last
- Solid wood, oiled finish. Warm, dark-oiled pine that sheds rain and looks good on any tree.
- Built like a cask. Curved staves instead of a flat crate — the shape Fergus worked with for 41 years.
- A roof over the food. The gabled roof keeps rain and snow off the nuts.
- Easy to clean. Lift the lid, brush out the shells, wipe, let it dry. That’s all.
- Checked by hand. Fergus looked over every barrel on his shelves before it went into the box.
If it isn’t right for your garden, one email to info@cedarandtinco.com is enough. No forms, no questions — Fergus would rather have it back than have it sit in a shed.
Fergus’s one tip. Hang the barrel about 1.5 metres high on a tree, fence or post, about three metres from your bird feeder. Fill it with hazelnuts, sunflower seeds and a few peanuts in their shells. Give the squirrels a few days to find it — then keep it topped up, and wipe it out once a week, right through to spring.
Product details
| Contents | 1 assembled squirrel barrel feeder + screws and wall plugs |
| Material | Solid pine, dark oiled finish; clear acrylic front |
| Dimensions | Approx. 33 × 23 × 17 cm (13 × 9 × 6.7 in) |
| Feeding chamber | Round, about 18 cm across |
| Entrances | 2 round holes, about 7 cm |
| Refill | Hinged lid on top |
| Mounting | Back board with pre-set hanging points; screws for tree, fence, post or wall |
| Best food | Hazelnuts, sunflower seeds, a few peanuts in their shells |
| Care | Wipe out once a week and let it dry; clean the window with a damp cloth |
| Made by | Fergus Munro, Aberlour, Speyside — last batch, 137 remaining |
The Last Winter
The Last Winter
A note from the shed:
Fergus Munro spent 41 years as a cooper on Speyside, making and mending oak casks for the whisky distilleries along the River Spey — about 100,000 of them. When he retired, he built his wife Moira a small round cask for the red squirrels, so they would leave her bird feeder alone. It worked, and he kept building them in the stone shed behind the cottage. Now arthritis in both wrists means he can no longer hold the staves tight. 137 barrels are left on his shelves in Aberlour. When they are gone, there will be no more.
Free UK Delivery
Free UK Delivery
Free delivery across the United Kingdom
- Delivery time: 3–5 working days
- Every barrel is carefully packed and sent with tracking
- Approx. 33 × 23 × 17 cm, round chamber about 18 cm across
- Two 7 cm entrances, hinged lift lid, clear front window
- Screws and wall plugs included for tree, fence, post or wall
- 30-day money-back guarantee — just email info@cedarandtinco.com
Frequently Asked Questions
Got a question? Here’s how to reach us.
Got a question? Here’s how to reach us.
Email us anytime at info@cedarandtinco.com. We answer Monday–Friday 9am–5pm and Saturday 10am–3pm (UK time). Whether it’s about your order, where to hang the barrel, or just to say hello — a real person writes back.
Can I return it if it’s not for me?
Can I return it if it’s not for me?
Of course. 30-day money-back guarantee. Hang it up, give the squirrels a week to find it, and if it isn’t right for your garden, email info@cedarandtinco.com within 30 days for a full refund. No questions, and UK delivery is free.
How is it made?
How is it made?
Fergus builds each barrel the way he built whisky casks for 41 years: a round chamber of curved wooden staves, about 18 cm across, with a gabled roof, a hinged lift lid and a clear front window held by six screws. Two round 7 cm doors let the squirrels come and go. The wood gets a dark oil finish so it sheds rain. Every barrel is checked by hand before it is packed, with Isla’s little card on how to keep it clean.